Failed the LMSW exam 3-times. I am stuck!

I would say I am a competent social worker. I always receive positive feedback regarding my performance in previous work places. However, I have poor test taking skills and anxiety problems. I spent a lot of time, money and energy preparing for the LMSW exam. I failed three times. I find it very difficult to get an employment in the field without the license. Emotionally, I am frustrated and I have no idea how to help myself. Any suggestions?

I never had to take the LMSW, but I assume the questions were formatted in the same manner as the LCSW exam. Questions that may pose scenerios: What would the social worker do NEXT, what would the social worker do FIRST, those kinds of questions.

I would reach each test question twice, then I would read the answer choices and quickly read the question again. I attempted to analyze what the question was about, whether human development, assessment, ethics, confidentiality, etc. There is usually always two answer choices that look very similiar. Once I isolated what the question was about (if it for example was truly a ethics questions), then I would pick the answer that was closest to an ethical answer choice.

Disclaimer: None of the information I am providing was obtained from the ASWB practice exam or full exam. These are all my own ideas and tips! These questions are made up by me!

Some tips I found helped me: Paying attention in particular to what type of social worker is being used in examples helped me eliminate answer choices (i.e. hospital social work, community social worker, mental health social worker, school social worker, etc.) For example: The hospital social worker received information from the doctor that a child has been abused and wants the social worker to assist. The social worker NEXT should: A. Interview the child about the allegations of abuse. B. Meet with the family to determine whether the child was abused. C. Call the state child abuse hotline and report the abuse to child protective services D. Do an assessment on the child. What helped me is eliminating anything not in the job duties and roles of a particular social worker. I would eliminate A and B, because it is not her role to engage in abuse investigations, it is the role of the state protective agency who has trained staff that does that. I would eliminate D, because it is close to A B and D. continued.....

ASWB says in their study guide, it is the best answer choice not necessarily what is "right/correct". There are usually two good answers that appear logically for each question on the exam.

With that, I would still say for the best answer, since the doctor has already said the child has been abused, then the best answer choice out of all three would be to contact child protective services. If the doctor would have said he thinks something may have occurred to the child, then D. to me would sound like a better choice.

Since these questions are short on the exam, we would not know all the ins and outs, but I still stand by the fact that the way these ASWB exams are written that ASWB is looking for the best answer choice. There are usually two plausible answer choices. Sometimes three answers are similar.

The exam and what our job duties in our employment are not necessarily what the answer choices will be. Since it is a national exam, across the board....most of the social work role questions are going to be general/and generic about what these roles do.

Glad I found this forum..I live in NJ. I have yet to pass LMSW exam. I have been debating whether or not to take LMSW EXAM Bootcamp in NY. There is one day ( 5 hour workshop) Its a little far for me. Has anyone heard of it? have any feedback? Did it pay off? It will be my third time taking it. I plan on taking it early March.. I missed it by 6pts the first time, and second time by one. I know I came close to passing it, but have not been motivated to study lately.

JRJ in New Milford, New Jersey said: Glad I found this forum..I live in NJ. I have yet to pass LMSW exam. I have been debating whether or not to take LMSW EXAM Bootcamp in NY. There is one day ( 5 hour workshop) Its a little far for me. Has anyone heard of it? have any feedback? Did it pay off? It will be my third time taking it. I plan on taking it early March.. I missed it by 6pts the first time, and second time by one. I know I came close to passing it, but have not been motivated to study lately.

I was in your same position. I did attend their workshop and got some great information. I was also very discouraged,but realized that I needed to pass to get a job. I had taken the exam 3 times and missed it by 3 points everytime. You can pass this exam. You have the ability. You have gotten discouraged. Before you do anything, you need to get motivated to want to pass this exam. Without the motivation,this would be a waste of your time time and MONEY! I wish you the best and know that there are people out there that have been in your situation. I finally passed the LCSW exam. it feels great to finally pass. Please take care and the best of luck.

Negarit in New York, New York said: My score was 88. I needed 101 to pass.

what were the questions like? Could you remember any of it?
were most of them "what is the first thing, or next, or best thing? do you remember how the questions were. Did you think you were doing well while taking the test. Did you have enough time.
I know the feeling of failing, I failed many times .
you and I and everyone is at the mercy of the ASWB, you will never know which questions you get wrong , so that you might be making the same mistakes over and over. and I see alot of the questions are critical thinking ones and have little to do with clinical aspects

Just a reminder: everyone who take the exam signs a confidentiality statement regarding sharing exam content. Violations can lead to legal and/or board actions.

It's understandable that test-takers would want a close look at the exam. We suggest reviewing the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) statements available on our website, www.aswb.org--these are the discrete knowledge components that you can expect to be tested on during the exam. The more you understand about HOW the exam is built and how it works, the less anxiety you'll feel on test day. As always, we're available to answer questions--just post them on our facebook page, and we'll do our best.

@ASWB it seem as though you are trying to discourage people from communicating about tips on teh exam. I seriously doubt that anyone can remember what is specifically on the test but can relate them more so to all the practice exams that we bought.

Negarit in New York, New York said: I am waiting for an anti-anxiety / super focus pill prescription. I have been extremely nervous and frustrated at myself to even dare to register for the test. Is there a courage pill?

Hi, I took exam 3 x years ago. Finally passed in '06. My anxiety kept me from succeeding. In general, I suffer from extreme anxiety and am on several anxiety/depression meds. But for exam specifically, my therapist suggested taking a beta-blocker. These are often taken by people who need to perform in public -- Barbara Streisand often took a beta-blocker before a performance. I believe that taking this med the third x is what allowed me to finally pass exam. I didn't have it the first two times I took the exam. I was still somewhat anxious, but it was more under control, and I was able to better concentrate on questions. This needs to be prescribed by psychiatrist because blood pressure must be monitored.

Other things I did to ensure I'd finally pass that g-d awful exam: I organized my own study group from people I contacted online who were also looking for exam help. And, I used a test prep course called, www.aatbs.com look it up online. wasn't cheap, but worth it. I tried all the other test prep courses & was sorely disappointed. Got my friends to use this test-prep program; they too passed, and were very pleased with it.

I don't mean to be a selfish social worker, but it took me 7 times to pass! At the very end, I decided to do what my colleague did: buy the online test that the ASWB "sells"...PLEASE LISTEN, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL GET INTO "THEIR MINDS" and learn how to prepare for the test. I did that and learn what they wanted from me and PASSED! after I had given up...literally. Guys, stop spending tons of money (like I did) buying training materials, and all that stuff that only gives you more knowledge but NOT the strategy that you need to take the test!
I say that I am selfish because I haven't taken the time to sit down and to share with this forum the strategy that I learned from the test...you know, life gets on the way. But please follow my advise. Go into the test, not trying to "learn" because you already know, but trying to learn when you answer "First", "most", etc.

axxatron in Nappanee, Indiana said: I don't mean to be a selfish social worker, but it took me 7 times to pass! At the very end, I decided to do what my colleague did: buy the online test that the ASWB "sells"...PLEASE LISTEN, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL GET INTO "THEIR MINDS" and learn how to prepare for the test. I did that and learn what they wanted from me and PASSED! after I had given up...literally. Guys, stop spending tons of money (like I did) buying training materials, and all that stuff that only gives you more knowledge but NOT the strategy that you need to take the test!
I say that I am selfish because I haven't taken the time to sit down and to share with this forum the strategy that I learned from the test...you know, life gets on the way. But please follow my advise. Go into the test, not trying to "learn" because you already know, but trying to learn when you answer "First", "most", etc.

tony in Houston, Texas said: where did you bought the asw materials, is it from aatbs.com

I went to the ASWB official website and bought the test online. After I took the test and revised the answers, I took note of the rationale they gave for all the "First", "Next", "Most", etc questions and learn to think like them. This is what we all want after we have taken the real test; we want to know what we did wrong so that we can learn from it. Well, it doesn't happen with the real exam, but at least we can learn BEFORE taken the exam. I know it sounds too simple. Believe me, it took me many tries to finally listen to the advise of just studying the strategy and to rely on the knowledge I already had.

nelktl03 in Houston, Texas said: can you please tell me where you have bought the asw materials, is it from aatbs.com?

Yes, I bought the study materials from this test-prep program, aatbs.com . I'm not allowed to post a contact telephone number for them here, but you can get their direct phone number and check out what they offer if you go to their site. Lots of info. on their site. One of the advantages of this test-prep program is that you can get help from one of their licensed sw'er over the phone during the time you're using their study materials if you're having lots of difficulty with certain types of questions. Normally I wouldn't advise spending more on study materials when the exam itself is so pricey. But, this study program was so worth the cost. I STILL refer to their study materials at times if I find I need to refresh myself on some area of sw-- and I passed the exam 6 yrs. ago!!

I bought the ASWB full length practice exam from the ASWB website www.aswb.org It provides rationale for your answers, and the computer layout is going to be the same for the real exam which for me was beneficial. For me what I have seen is that the ASWB exams really is more about knowing how to form strategies in answering questions versus real life practice. It is easier for new social workers to pass, than social workers who have actually been practicing in the field. An interesting research study showed some question on the validity of the ASWB exam, as in this research study they gave the ASWB exam to students still in college and they passed. There is a very interesting website regarding whether the ASWB exams are really a true measure and it points out a study where first year MSW students passed the full length ASWB exam. If you google "A test of the validity of the ASWB exam" you will find the article.

I don't think personally that the exam really is about ensuring social workers are "knowledgeable" because most of your test prep is all about test taking strategies and knowing how to answer the first, next and most questions. If it was about real social work knowledge there would not be any tricks involved. This is one reason I don't care for standardized testing. When you have to study to strategize how to answer questions versus being able to use your social work practice skills to answer questions, something is wrong with that.

For those who are discouraged, don't let not passing the ASWB exams make you feel like you are not good social workers. This exam does not measure how great of a social worker we are, but how great of a standardized test taker we are. And of course with the increase of cost, ASWB is taking that to the bank!

Axa,
I surpassed failing 7 times and failed much more then that. I already studied the ASWB practice test and actually passed on the practice online test with flying colors. But, I still can't quite score on the real test.............It is a sad affair to keep trying over and over when you know everything except reconditioning my brain to answer the questions like they want me to answer them and not like a professional Social Worker

Glad to read that I am not the only "rare case of not able to pass after 3 times". I am going to have an LISW supervisor who also teach the exam to give me private lessons so that she can help me determine what I am doing wrong. I always get 84 to 86 questions correct. The instructor states I know at 80% of the exam which is good, but I need to determine what is the hump i need to get over.

Glad to read that I am not the only "rare case of not able to pass after 3 times". I am going to have an LISW supervisor who also teach the exam to give me private lessons so that she can help me determine what I am doing wrong. I always get 84 to 86 questions correct. The instructor states I know at 80% of the exam which is good, but I need to determine what is the hump i need to get over

Yes it is. One of the things I like the most is that it helped me understand the reason for the answers that ASWB believed to be the "right ones" I was able to understand their reasoning. Why First and not Next, etc. etc.

Someone posted that they had not passed for the 7th time in spite of having taking the online exam and "passed with flying colors". My question to this person is: When you took the prep. test, did you "dissect it"? or did you answer the questions based on the knowledge that you had. In other words, taken the test is one thing. But what you have to look into is the rationale they give you AFTER you have taken the test. This are your "KEYS" to the answers. Why a question that you answered right was right. READ THE RATIONALE they give you and make notes; find patterns. I found about 5-7 patterns and memorized them. The knowledge we already have; we need to "understand" "get into their heads". Did you know that those professionals that are selected to write questions for the test are TRAINED before?

axxatron in Nappanee, Indiana said: Yes it is. One of the things I like the most is that it helped me understand the reason for the answers that ASWB believed to be the "right ones" I was able to understand their reasoning. Why First and not Next, etc. etc.

Someone posted that they had not passed for the 7th time in spite of having taking the online exam and "passed with flying colors". My question to this person is: When you took the prep. test, did you "dissect it"? or did you answer the questions based on the knowledge that you had. In other words, taken the test is one thing. But what you have to look into is the rationale they give you AFTER you have taken the test. This are your "KEYS" to the answers. Why a question that you answered right was right. READ THE RATIONALE they give you and make notes; find patterns. I found about 5-7 patterns and memorized them. The knowledge we already have; we need to "understand" "get into their heads". Did you know that those professionals that are selected to write questions for the test are TRAINED before?

I hope this helps.

Axa

SO true.......I took the online full length ASWB practice exam and found it helped with as you said "getting into their heads". I think it should be made known to all social workers that these are national standardized exams that do not measure the knowledge of a social worker. It is a standardized exam where we have to learn the mechanics of how questions are formulated, and to understand in intent of the question and the "best" answer. Once we learn that, answering the questions I think is a lot easier. Sadly, we have to learn how to answer the trick questions versus really using our social work practice knowledge which is why I feel the exam has no real purpose. Especially when research has shown social work college students were able to pass the exam. Not about what you know, but about how to take the test.

axxatron in Milford, Indiana said: JRJ, I tried six times unsuccessfully so I know how you feel! I probably spent over $1,000 in materials and various "bootcamps"and this was not counting the registration fees!Needless is to say that I became "an expert" in the matter but still I was unable to pass the test. I even trained other colleagues. One day I asked one of them what she had done to pass the test. She told me that she had purchased the online ASWB examination. So, when I was ready to take it for the 7th! time, I decided that I couldn't learn anymore; I had been in the field for over 15 years and had a reputation as one of the "good ones". I decided to purchase the test and studied from the perspective that because i had taken it so many times I WAS AN EXPERT at it. Literally, this is true; I don't know why it had never occurred to me that I shouldn't be afraid of the test, but face it as someone who was an expert. Nevertheless, with this experience in mind, I still needed to find out "how their (ASWB) brains worked".

Not to make you afraid and maybe it will help you, but I purchased the ASWB exam. I passed with 115 pts went and took the test again for the fifth time and FAILED. Honetly, I think it is all a money maker. We are the lease paid profession and without this licensure we will never make anything compatible with what we spent to get the degree. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

socialwkr in Missouri said: SO true.......I took the online full length ASWB practice exam and found it helped with as you said "getting into their heads". I think it should be made known to all social workers that these are national standardized exams that do not measure the knowledge of a social worker. It is a standardized exam where we have to learn the mechanics of how questions are formulated, and to understand in intent of the question and the "best" answer. Once we learn that, answering the questions I think is a lot easier. Sadly, we have to learn how to answer the trick questions versus really using our social work practice knowledge which is why I feel the exam has no real purpose. Especially when research has shown social work college students were able to pass the exam. Not about what you know, but about how to take the test.

THIS STATEMENT IS SO TRUE, MAY QUESTION TO THE BOARD AND SOCIAL WORK SCHOOLS WHY PAY FOR THE EDUCATION?

Dana, Congratulations!!! I know how you feel. For those of you who are still trying to pass it, follow my recommendation and purchase the test, answer it and look forward to reading THE RATIONALE!! If you can, either copy those rationales or hand write them, so that you can memorize WHY "they" the "conflict" presented in the stem should be answered with the answer they provided.

Above all my friends, if they give you the opportunity to take the test again, TAKE IT!!! don't lose faith. Is the test just or unjust? Does it measure our knowledge and capacity or not? PLEASE, do not dwell on those things. You, as a clinician know better than anyone that negative emotions WILL GET ON THE WAY of your test results. Leave seeking justice/or justifying emotions for AFTER you have passed the test.

In the meantime, become humble and accept that until something or someone changes the present system, THAT and only THAT SYSTEM is what you have to become licensed. Tough to swallow? yes! Needed? Yes!

God is above all, but systems are created by us and we are to follow them whether they are perfect or not. Just reality.

shimmyw in Brooklyn, New York said: Axa,
I surpassed failing 7 times and failed much more then that. I already studied the ASWB practice test and actually passed on the practice online test with flying colors. But, I still can't quite score on the real test.............It is a sad affair to keep trying over and over when you know everything except reconditioning my brain to answer the questions like they want me to answer them and not like a professional Social Worker

@Joe. Been there done that. I have purchase the SWE.com and ATTBS, ASWB lectures and everything else. Right now I am feeling so defeated that I no longer have the thirst to learn the differnet theories and moods. But will eventually come around again. But I know I will pass the clinical exan. But I really did like the SWE.com because it was simply written. Good luck to you and me both

I posted here before... a few times. I took the exam twice before.. I wanted to let everyone here know I passed my LMSW exam here in NJ today! Don't give up! . I joined LMSW/LCSW Skype Study groups. It helped with motivation and allowed me to vent! We basically went over questions, reviewed things we had issues with, and discussed our rationales for choosing a particular answer. I studied from SWES ( just practice exams) A little bit of everything.. some of LEAP/NASW. However the main thing that helped me was the skills gained from LMSW/LCSW bootcamp. Check it out. There is also some facebook groups that post LCSW/LMSW questions. I used some free tools www.mymsw.info/ and socialworkexam.com ( 7 day subscription) Finally breathing and praying helped me through this whole process. My friend passed and she took the many times! She realized she needed to get her anxiety in control.

Thank u for the reply. As u mentioned, gain the spirit and strenth through positive thinking and attempt again and again until u get it over. I heard abount Gerry Grossman study material and Social work Review. Any idea abount these study materials?

Hi every one: Anyone heard abount Academic Review study materials. Also I heard about Gerry Grossman. I am planning to buy any one of them. Any idea which one is better. Awaiting for your feedback. Thank u all.

I heard from some people who are taking LCSW that Gerry Grossman prep material is good. I have only used his website ( mymsw.info). There is an option where he can send you LCSW daily questions for FREE! It seemed useful. The rationales are very long, but sometimes his answers are wrong. However he usually corrects them if they are wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised with SWES Book material. The rationales were clear for the most part and had ton's of practice questions. I actually never purchased the material but someone who had passed their LMSW sent it to me by email. It was older version. It allowed me to see how the questions were worded, and overall just feel more comfortable with this exam.

Do you have facebook or skype? The LCSW skype/google group share study material together. If you have facebook, you may want to check out LCSW STUDY GROUP fb group: www.facebook.com/groups/LCSWSTUDYGROUP/. The group post LMSW/LCSW type questions.
However don't get discouraged if you get a lot of the questions wrong, but the most important thing you understand rationale. Also remember the LCSW is more clinical than LMSW.

Hey, everyone! Just to let you know, I struggled, initially with the LSW and LCSW exam. I failed each one twice by one-two points and passed them both the second time. I strongly recommend, as mentioned in previous posts, take the ASWB practice exam first before you take the exam, even if you've already done it in the past. This helps to alleviate some anxiety, and it will assist you to get familiar with the wording. No one is expected to memorize the DSM or any study guides. I've purchased several study guides, online tests and ASWB tests. It really helps to have a partner (even one who doesn't work in the field) to help you study and process the information. During the test, try process of elimiation to the best of your ability. Again, you're not going to have all of the answers. The LSW is more recall than the LCSW. The LCSW exam is in place to make sure you can apply your clinical knowledge to the questions they ask. There are definitely some recall questions on there too, but not as heavy as the LSW.

I feel that the Board should not base our experience and knowledge on one test, but unfortunately, they do. All you can do is your best, study a few times a week so that it stays fresh in your brain. I stress the importance of having someone assist you in the studying process!

No problem. My post doesn't make sense. I actually meant to say that I failed the LSW and LCSW each on the first try, but passed the second time around. We get ourselves so worked up taking these tests, that it's our nerves that fail us in the end. If you know the material, you'll do fine. Just apply it to the questions to the best of your ability. After a while, the second time around, I didn't overthink the questions, and just flagged them if they didn't make sense or I had to read them again. Best tip I can give is don't change your answers! Go with your gut! Good luck!!

Dear Heavenly Father I thank you for the opportunity to pray to you this evening, I thank you for this day, the functioning of my mind, body and soul. Father I pray today for each and every person that has not passed the LMSW examination and I pray that our minds be open and we gain all the information to pass the examination. Father you hold the world in Your hands and it is by Your power we claim victory over the LMSW examination.
In Jesus name Amen!

I just found this and feel this is helpful to me as I can relate to many of you. I received my MSW is 2005. I took the exam for LMSW 2 x and failed. I have test anxiety too. I was then able to take the exam for LCSW after 3 yrs of experience, and failed this 2 x as well even after getting special accomodations. I was under alot of stress from my employer to get my licensure, and when I failed again I was terminated. I am having trouble finding work cuz every agency requires license. Fortunately I have unemployment insurance. I was so upset after loosing my job that I just kept avoiding studying. Now I am preparing for the exam again and hope to take it again in September. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

This site has been really informative. I wanted to share that I finally passed my LCSW exam after failing 3 times! I used AATBS and socialworktestprep and didn't find them helpful. through the google study group I learned of www.therapistdevelopmentcenter.com and I used their program to pass. They have clear on-line lectures taught by people who recently took the exam. I highly recommend you check them out and save yourself time and money!